House Oversight Dems: GOP blocking request for Trump admin records

Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee said Thursday that committee Republicans are blocking efforts to get documents from the Trump administration necessary for an investigation into the White House’s use of private emails and private jets. 

Democrats told Reuters on Thursday that committee Republicans blocked requests during a committee meeting for the panel to consider, debate and vote on 13 motions to subpoena various documents and testimony.

Those documents reportedly relate to the White House’s security clearance policy, as well as Trump officials’ use of private planes and private email accounts.

{mosads}In particular, Democrats on the panel are interested in White House senior adviser Jared Kushner’s testimony about his actions prior to having his security clearance downgraded from “top secret” to “secret,” Reuters reported. 

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), the ranking Democrat on the committee, wrote a letter to Chairman Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) on Wednesday urging the chairman to subpoena the White House for documents.

“When you served as Chairman of the Benghazi Select Committee, you took a completely different approach to investigating Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s use of private email,” Cummings wrote. “You demanded  —  and I supported  —  the production of all of her emails relating to Benghazi.”

“In contrast, since President Trump assumed office, you have refused to insist on the production of documents we both requested five months ago,” he added.

Gowdy wrote to the White House last month seeking information on its security clearance practices after ex-staff secretary Rob Porter gained an interim clearance despite a background check flagging domestic violence allegations.

The White House refused to comply with his request for documents related to whether it followed proper security clearance procedures for Porter, and instead detailed its new security clearance process.

Gowdy called the response “inadequate.”